


The Look of Love

by chica_rockbell



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Angst, Best Friends, Childhood Friends, F/M, Fanfiction, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Minor Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader, One Shot, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-17
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:00:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,100
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25343590
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chica_rockbell/pseuds/chica_rockbell
Summary: Daichi always knew he was in love with you, but he never confessed. And know it was probably too late.Warnings: minor spoilers from the time skip (Daichi and Bo’s profession only)
Relationships: Sawamura Daichi/Reader, Ushijima Wakatoshi/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 62





	The Look of Love

When Daichi met his new neighbour it just clicked. Not that a seven-year-old would take notice of that, but spending time with you felt right. You were is favourite person to be around.

Apparently, you went to the same school as him and, since your mums were old friends that decided that being neighbours was a great idea, they took turns on picking you up, and the both of you ended up playing in each other’s backyards a lot.

And when Daichi discovered that you liked volleyball too, his fondness of you grew even more. Your usual games were quickly replaced by volleyball “games”. Except it would be just the two of you passing the ball around clumsily since none of you had any kind of practice, just the love for the sport.

“(Y/n) we should join a volleyball club!” Daichi said one day, as the both of you rested at his couch, watching a game on television. A real one, with pro players and everything.

The smile you gave him in return was enough of an answer and you quickly made both your parents aware of your plan. So, the week after, you both joined a club and started to play.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a hot summer day, pretty normal for the middle of June.

As Daichi left the gym, he took notice of you, outside, waiting for him.

“You’re early (Y/n).” He greeted you.

“Yeah, my practice ended up beforehand.” You told him, with a small smile across your lips.

“Let me just get my stuff from the club room and we can head home.” He said, leaving you alone again.

You were already on the third year of middle school and you and Daichi had stick together through the whole time. You were practically inseparable, and people would often think that you were dating due to how familiar you were with each other.

Not that Daichi didn’t want it to be true. He was one hundred percent aware of his feelings for you, even though it took him a while to realize it. But he knew you weren’t into him. On the frequent hang outs with Michimiya and Ikejiri, you would often talk to the other member of the female volleyball team about the guys you liked, or thought were cute. And Daichi would never feature on that list unless you decided to start messing with him. So he just let it go, thinking he eventually would forget you.

He quickly grabbed his stuff from the club room and made its way back to you.

“Hey, you want to grab some ice cream? I could really use one with all this heat.” You asked Daichi when he came back.

“Yeah, sounds good to me.” The male answered.

You both made your way to the convenience store that was on the way home, bought your ice creams and decided to sit on a bench of a park that was nearby. The sun had started to set meanwhile but the temperature seemed to stay exactly the same.

“(Y/n) I know that we still have a few months to go, but have you considered what school you’re going to choose in high school?” Daichi asked you somewhere in the middle of your conversation.

For some reason you seemed to flinch at the question. Did Daichi asked something wrong? Maybe you had argued with your parents because of it. Sometimes it happened, you showing up at his door upset because you had a fight with your parents. Most of the times the reason was the same. Volleyball. Even though they let you play, they would often say that you should focus more on your studies and just drop, and you would get upset and ended up discussing with them. Thus, Daichi ended up comforting you when it happened. So maybe they wanted you to go to a specific school and you had other ideas.

“What about you Daichi? Do you know where you want to go?” You asked him back, avoiding his question.

“Not fair, I asked first.” He said while eating a piece of his ice cream. “But if you’re so keen on knowing it, I’m considering attending Karasuno.” You sighed at his response.

“Okay I’ll tell you, but you have to promise to keep it a secret because I haven’t told anyone yet.” You gave in, now extending your pinkie for him to intertwine his in a promise, something you did since you were kids.

“I promise.” He said, your fingers together now.

“Yesterday I received a call from Shiratorizawa.” You said as a small blush made its way to your face. “They said they were interested in giving me a volleyball scholarship for the feminine team next year, as long as I can keep my grades the way they are right now.” You finished, a hint of pride in your voice.

Daichi stared dumb fold at you. Whatever he was waiting to hear, this definitely wasn’t it. Not that he though you couldn’t do it, he knew you were an excellent player and you probably practiced more than him. But Shiratorizawa seemed like a dream only some could reach.

“Aren’t you going to say something?” You asked him after a while of awkward silence.

“Sorry, I just-“ He just couldn’t make his mind on what to feel. On one hand, he was immensely proud of you. You worked so hard and Daichi knew you deserved this more than anyone, probably. On the other hand, it meant that you had to go away, you would stop to see each other on a daily basis and he would only be able to see you on the few weekends you would spend at home. It broke his heart.

“I’m proud of you (Y/n).” He finally managed to say with a smile. “Are you going to take it?” He asked.

“As you can imagine my parents were thrilled with it.” You replied while resting your head at Daichi’s shoulder. “But I have to think about it, I would have to move there and leave you guys behind.”

“If it’s us that you’re worried about, it’s not like we will stop being friends.” Daichi tried to reassure you, even though he wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince. You or himself. “We can still talk on the phone and text and when you come home for the weekend we can hang out.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” You sighed.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Surprisingly, when Daichi hit his head against Tanaka’s shoulder at the Wakutani game, your face flashed in his mind. No, it wasn’t because he had seen you in the stands watching his game, because he really didn’t see you, even though you were there. But in that moment, for some reason, he kind of whished you were.

It was only when he laid in the infirmary bed, resting, and you showed up there that he thought he was seeing things and, maybe, he really had a concussion. Because in the last three years you had become almost like a distant dream. You still spend some time together, but after some time at Shiratorizawa, you started to come home less and less and, when you did, you couldn’t always be with each other.

And Daichi recomforted himself with hearing the things that went on with your life through his mother, who, in her turn, heard it from your mother. But even if you were away, even if you grew apart, Daichi’s feelings stayed exactly the same. When he thought that he was ready to let you go, you would find a way to make him stay. You would be home that weekend and when he was with you, he immediately remembered the reasons he had to fall in love with you. Other times, it would be for real now, he would forget you, he told himself, and then, he would see a picture of you on Instagram or something on Twitter, making him realise how much he missed you and everything would stay the same.

So, when he saw you, at the end of the bed he was in, he really though he was having some kind of dream.

“Daichi are you okay? Did they drug you or something because of the pain? You’re doing a weird face.” You finally spoke, making him realise that this was the real thing. You were really in front of him in your Shiratorizawa uniform.

“Yeah I’m fine. It’s just a bruise.” He answered you quickly, feeling embarrassed of his previous behaviour. “What are you doing here, though? Shouldn’t you be playing?” He added. A sad smile appeared on your face and he instantly regretted what he said because it was the dumbest question in the world.

“I stopped playing last year after my knee surgery Daichi.” You replied. You didn’t look mad at the question, just sad. Of course he knew about your knee injury, you had bend it in the wrong way, trying to receive a ball during a game. Daichi had even visited you once. But back then you seemed eager to come back to the court, so when his mother told him that you quitted, he dismissed it as something your parents would make you do and that you would be back in no time. But the news that you started to play again never came.

“Sorry (Y/n).” It was the only thing he managed to say. By now he was sitting in the bed and you had come closer, picking his hand and playing with his fingers. Another thing you did ever since you were kids. “So, are you here to cheer for the male team?” Daichi asked you, trying to change the subject.

The sadness seemed to disappear from your face as you kept on playing with his fingers. Your sad smile was replaced with a loving expression.

“Actually, my boyfriend his a regular at Shiratorizawa. But when I heard you were playing, I had to go and see. But then you hit your head and I got worried.” You explained him.

Daichi almost felt happy that you were worried and came to check up on him, if not for the boyfriend part. You had a boyfriend? Since when? Why hadn’t his mother informed Daichi of this? But most importantly, who the hell was this guy that seemed to sweep you of your feet, judging by the happy look you had just from talking about him. Daichi felt something breaking inside of him. Maybe it was his heart, but he wasn’t sure since he though you already broke it when you left three years ago.

“Boyfriend? Who is he (Y/n)?” The captain managed to keep his cool, smiling even, masking his pain with innocent curiosity. After all he was used to deal with his other teammates, and he would often play the bad guy or something else to keep things in order. But he still removed his fingers from yours, touching you was too much for him, he was afraid he would lose control over a single touch.

“Well…” You started as your cheeks grew redder. “It’s Ushiwaka.” Your voice was almost a whisper but Daichi managed to hear it. The smile that came afterwards to your lips made clear how thrilled you were about it.

“You seem happy with it.” Daichi didn’t even knew he could keep up with the act, but somehow, he did. He just wanted for this nightmare to end. So, he kept on smiling, hoping that if he could conceal the way he felt, the whole thing would end quickly.

“Yeah, he is a good guy, regardless of the first impression he gives.” You told Daichi, your eyes filled with nostalgia, as if a distant memory flashed in the back of your mind.

“Just so you know, we are going to defeat him tomorrow and go to Nationals.” Daichi provoked with his confident tone, his wicked expression showing. Now, more than ever, he really wanted to destroy Ushijima.

You gave a small chuckle. “Well, I guess I see you tomorrow at the game, then.” You said and made your way to the exit. You turned back and gave Daichi a last smile, which he returned, with a lot of effort.

When you left, he finally let his guard down, a long sigh leaving his lips. At least, the nightmare seemed to be over. He felt this big urge to scream and cry, but he knew better than to make a mess. Instead he closed his eyes and rested, focusing his feelings on winning the next game and finally defeat Shiratorizawa.

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When the game was over, Daichi was still ablaze by it. They were going to nationals and he had defeated Ushijima, just like he promised you. But when he searched you on the stands, he couldn’t find you anywhere. It was only when he was about to leave the gym to wash his face before the award ceremony that he got a glimpse of you.

You entered the court with a serious expression, using a purple oversized jacket. Wakatoshi’s jacket, Daichi assumed. Daichi was hoping to talk to you, at least to say hi. But you passed him without even a glance in his direction. Like he wasn’t even there, like you didn’t know him.

The captain stopped dead in his tracks, unable to look away from you. As one would expect, you went straight to Ushijima, engulfing him in a tight hug, burying your face in his chest, not even caring if he was all sweaty from the game. But when the Shiratorizawa captain smiled down at you and hugged you back, that was the moment that struck Daichi the most.

It made it all the more real. The events of the day before weren’t a nightmare. It was reality. Just like that, Daichi had lost the game to be with you. Except he had never been a player and never stood a chance. Was it foolish of him to think that, if he defeated Wakatoshi, you would leave him and be with Daichi?

“Daichi is everything okay?” Suga interrupted his thoughts. Daichi finally removed his eyes from you, looking at his teammate and best friend.

“Yeah” he lied. “Everything is fine.”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

When Daichi arrived home, he couldn’t believe his day was finally over. Today had been a specially boring one at the police station. He had spent the day filling reports and when he went out on patrol, the most exciting thing that happened were a few speeding tickets. To top it all, the hot summer days made it even more difficult.

Daichi changed into some comfortable clothes, sweatpants and a white t-shirt, and settled on the couch, enjoying the silence of his apartment.

He had moved in after high school was over, when he decided to join the police. It wasn’t anything big, but it was located in a nice neighbourhood and gave him the privacy he needed.

When Daichi made his mind on preparing dinner, someone rang the doorbell. Daichi was caught of guard. Was he expecting someone? Did he invited Suga over and forgot? Still confused, the former captain opened his door, except the person that stood on the other side was the last one he was expecting to see.

“Hey Daichi.” You greeted him with a smile. He was so surprised he couldn’t even get his shit together to greet you back. After high school, you had definitely moved out of Miyagi, going to a college in Tokyo, or at least that was what his mother had told Daichi. And after that you just lost touch. With you being to busy with college and Daichi being focused on becoming a police officer, your interactions were reduced to the occasional story response on Instagram, or exchanging memes, although that happened, like, once in a lifetime.

But even like that, Daichi wasn’t able to forget you. Not entirely at least. He tried to date other girls, though none of them would last more than four months before he grew tired. Not to mention the amount of one night stands he had. In the end, nothing of that worked.

“Are you busy? I can come on another time if you want.” You added, catching Daichi’s attention.

“No. It’s okay, come in.” He said, stepping out of the way, letting you in is house. “I was just surprised to see you here.” He confessed.

“Sorry.” You said with a smile. God, how he missed that smile. “I went to your parents, but your mom said you had moved out and gave me your address. I hope that’s okay.” You said, shyly.

“No problem.” He smiled at you. Even though he didn’t know why you were in Miyagi, at his house, he was extremely happy to see you. “I was about to make dinner, do you want to join me?” Daichi asked you. He was hopeless, he knew that the feelings he tried so hard to get rid of would come back if he kept talking with you. But still, he wanted you to stay, to be with you.

“Yes, that would be great.” You answered him. “I just hope I don’t get food poison or something from your cooking skills Daichi.” You teased him. And suddenly you were teenagers once more, like you had never left, and you could go back to be best friends. Daichi felt warm, a feeling he would only get when he was with you. However, he though he would never feel like that in his life again.

“I’ll have you know that I’m actually a great cook.” Daichi replied you, smiling like a little kid. He proceeded to go to the kitchen, to start to make dinner. You followed him, looking around the house, taking in every detail.

“So, what brings you to Miyagi?” Daichi asked, breaking the silence.

“I’m here for summer break.” You replied. Suddenly, a piece of information crossed Daichi’s mind, something his mother told him, as usual, and the main reason why he couldn’t be with you came crushing all his hopes and dreams.

“I though you spent the summer with Ushijima?” Daichi said, grabbing the knife he was using to cut the vegetables harder, trying to keep control of his emotions.

“We actually broke up a few months ago.” You informed him. Daichi almost let the knife fall of his hand. You broke up? Did that mean that you were single? That maybe Daichi had a chance? He started to question if his mother was the best source of information.

“Sorry, I didn’t know. Are you okay?” Daichi asked you, turning to face you. But surprisingly you didn’t look sad.

“Yeah, it just wasn’t working anymore, you know? We barely had the time to be with each other.” You confessed. Daichi didn’t know what to answer, so, instead, he went back to finish dinner.

“What about you Daichi? Is there a special someone in your life?” You inquired. If not for your teasing tone, Daichi would actually think that you were hitting on him.

“Nope. Still single. I guess I haven’t found the one yet.” He replied, going along with your teasing. Except it was a lie, because he had already found you.

“I’m sure she’s just around the corner.” You reassured Daichi. No, she is right in front of me, he contemplated.

Dinner was ready, and you continued to catch up on each other. It appeared that you were going to finish college in the next year and you intended to come back to Miyagi. After finishing dinner and cleaning up, you rested on the couch, the TV on, displaying some sports channel but none of you payed much attention. The conversation between the two of you seemed to never stop, like you hadn’t just come back into Daichi’s life and this was a normal activity you did once a week.

“That Bokuto is a really strong player, isn’t he?” You asked Daichi, when at some point, a commercial showing the Black Jackals appeared on his TV.

“Yeah, he was a really hard one to block back in the days.” Daichi acknowledge, memories of the training camp in Tokyo on his last year of high school flashing through his eyes. After that you fell into a comfortable silence, as you watched a volleyball game that started meanwhile.

Suddenly Daichi felt your weight shifting on the couch by his side. And when he noticed, you already had your head resting on his shoulder. He tensed up. Sure, he was already comfortable with your company, but being this close to you? He thought he would lose control. But then again, was it so bad that he lost it? You were the one that came to his house and made a move. And you we re single now! He couldn’t waste this chance, could he?

Therefore, when he calmed down enough so that his heart stopped beating so fast, he moved his arm, and sneaked it around your shoulders. Instead of flinching away, like Daichi though you would, you made yourself comfortable in his hold, your head on his chest now, your arm around his waist, while your eyes kept glued to the game.

If someone saw the two of you, they would think you were together for sure. That thought and the feeling of your body against him made Daichi blush, his heartbeat accelerating once again. There goes his attempt to hide how nervous he genuinely was.

You looked up at Daichi, you must have sensed his nervousness because you asked him if he was okay. And that was when he lost it because he didn’t miss way you looked at his lips, as if saying “are you going to kiss me or not?” And that’s exactly what he did.

He quickly moved his free hand to cup your cheek and he leaned down, pressing his lips against yours. And when you kissed him back, Daichi thought he was in heaven. Everything felt right in that moment. But just as quickly as it had started, it ended when you pulled away from him.

“Daichi I’m sorry, I-“

“(Y/n) what’s wrong?” Daichi interrupted you.

“I can’t do this.” You said, with a panicked tone. Daichi recognized it immediately, because it wasn’t the first time he saw you like that. Surprisingly, he felt calm as a rock despite of what just happened.

“(Y/n), breath.” He told you as he grabbed your face with both his hands, like he did many times before. Just like he instructed, you took a deep breath, calming yourself. “Tell me, what’s wrong.” He asked again when he felt that you were calm enough.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. I was being selfish and only thinking about how I feel. I really don’t want to ruin our friendship.” You blurted out, unable to look Daichi in the eyes.

“What do you mean, how you feel?” He asked. Daichi was taken aback by your words. He was so confused.

“Idiot, I like you, can’t you tell?” You said only above a whisper, gripping the fabric of his t-shirt with your hand.

“You like me? Since when?” Daichi felt his heart beat faster than ever, but now your reactions made sense to him.

“Since ever! I thought you noticed.” You told him, finally looking up. Daichi suppressed his urge to hit his head against a wall. All this time you had liked him? All this time you could have been together?

“But what about Ushijima and all that?” He still didn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Don’t get me wrong, I liked him, I really did.” You said a little bit embarrassed now. “But I was never able to like him the way I liked you, Daichi.”

“You know what? I don’t believe you.” Daichi finally said.

“You what?”

“Don’t think you can come here and steal my story miss, no way.” Daichi kept going.

“Daichi what do you mean? I don’t understand.” You asked. It was your turn to be confused. Daichi smiled at you.

“I’m the one that loves you since I met you. Not the other way around. And don’t think I’m going to let you get away from me this time.” Daichi confessed, wrapping his arms around you and bringing your body close to him. You hugged him back, pressing your forehead against his shoulder.

Daichi felt warm inside. He no longer felt that his heart was broken. He felt like everything would turn out alright if he had you by his side.


End file.
